Later tonight: Best of Youth and Ponette.

Both are great. Tissues will need to be w/in arms' reach for the latter.

Both are great. Tissues will need to be w/in arms' reach for the latter.

Once is my number on©e of the year. I'm surprised at the controversy on the SOMB.

Talk about a buzz kill. Nevertheless, [spoiler]I was dissappointed that her mom really came back from the dead -- how unrealistic and moving away from what I had been thinking was the point of the sadness in the movie.[/spoiler]

Revisiting an old friend:



Teachers

I'd almost totally forgotten about this one. So many entertaining (if cartoon-ish) performances, solid writing,... yeah.. still holds up. It was decent way-back-when, and it's still decent now. Some great lines flit through every scene, although the timing of certain lines occasionally skips a beat. Ralph Maccio is absolutely dreadful as a rebel-with-a-heart-of-gold, buuuuuut Nick Nolte's big drunk scene with Judd Hirsch is hilarious and brilliantly executed.

Did I miss the thread...I thought it was so far universally praised, until the comment up page from pavement.

those were both kinda pointless.

Ghost World: At first I thought this was just going to be a teen chick flick with the benefit of having Scarlett Johanssen. And then it turned into one of the best movies I've ever seen. Thora Birch was great, Buscemi was great, and the movie was great. Highly recommended.

i really cant believe there are people who haven't seen this movie. its viewing was fucking DEMANDED if one was my friend in college.

i hadnt watched it in YEARS, literally, becaus ei grew out of the phase of wanting to be enid, etc, but after reading your thing i watched it last night and god damn. so good. though production is so shoddy (but thats only becaus eive watched it 100 times).

scarlett sort of ruins the movie, for me. becuase she is SUCh a BAD fucking ACTRESS. but once she goes away and its just enid and seymour? siiiiiiiiiigh.

and as weird as it is, seymour is totally my perfect man. i cant help but be attracted to the nerdy pale weird socially inept older dude

This film is partially responsible for my having become a teacher in 1987.

i really cant believe there are people who haven't seen this movie. its viewing was fucking DEMANDED if one was my friend in college.

i hadnt watched it in YEARS, literally, becaus ei grew out of the phase of wanting to be enid, etc, but after reading your thing i watched it last night and god damn. so good. though production is so shoddy (but thats only becaus eive watched it 100 times).

scarlett sort of ruins the movie, for me. becuase she is SUCh a BAD fucking ACTRESS. but once she goes away and its just enid and seymour? siiiiiiiiiigh.

and as weird as it is, seymour is totally my perfect man. i cant help but be attracted to the nerdy pale weird socially inept older dude

Saw 'Chalk'. As far as the conversations I've had with High school teachers this seemed dead on. And it doesn't overstay its welcome like the Christopher Guest mockumentaries often do.

Did I miss the thread...I thought it was so far universally praised, until the comment up page from pavement.

I think a lot more people like it than did not like it. Still, I understand if people didn't like it. Kind of the film you're either going to be nuts for or just brush off as nothing to get excited about.

Other than No Country, this was my favorite of '07.

Yes, I totally agree. Scarlett is an afterthought, even though I thought she'd be the highlight. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant movie. I'd say more, but I'm feeling a little weirdly socially inept. Now where did I put that social security check? Hmmmm . . . If only my albinism weren't getting in the way, I'd see the light.

Scarlet was almost frumpy in that movie. When I saw it, I definitely didn't see the sex symbol in her future.

Scarlet was almost frumpy in that movie. When I saw it, I definitely didn't see the sex symbol in her future.

Fucking awesome. The scene where it's really early morning or something and the kids have ended up in the barn and see Mitchum on a horse in the distance, singing... absolutely horrifying. Like all of my nightmares rolled into one. I love it when a film really nails the dream state. Shit yeah.

How badass was this:



What a strange and wonderful film.

Yeah, Mitchum's all backlit, looking like he's riding a hobbyhorse in a Morris dance--like something out of a 1930s expressionist play. God, that whole trip down the river, with the dandelions blowing and the bullfrog. Absolute perfection.

But it all boils down to the murder scene in the bedroom. Holy fuck.

Just watched this today:



Incredible and infuriating.

I can't believe they're still in prison.

good movie.

last night i watched Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

i wish someone had made me watch this earlier. what a fantastic movie that is

Pave are you going to give a reason why Juno is awful?

I can't imagine how anyone could possibly find it to be anything less than unbearably irritating. But eh. EEEEEEEEHHHHHH.

I know! It's fucking unbelievable. I get so angry. It's all senor cardgage's fault. He told me I needed to see the documentaries.

It's just so hard to believe that someone in this day and age can be imprisoned for life and/or be on death row with absolutely no evidence linking them to the crime. And even still with all of this new evidence proving they did not do it. I hate to say it, but this case perpetuates the stereotypes of the bible belt. "Oh, that kid wears black clothes, listens to Metallica, and is interested in the Wiccan religion. He must be a murdering devil worshiper!" If that was the case at least a quarter of the guys I went to high school with must be devil worshipers. Hell, I wear a lot of black, I must be one too!

It's even more difficult to believe that they are nearly at the end of the appeal process and no one else can see what is so obvious to the rest of the world. grrr. so angry.

Dear Friends & Supporters:

I have waited a long time to write you this note.

Just hours ago our attorneys filed a Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus proving that three innocent men were wrongfully convicted of murder in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. Citing DNA testing and evidence from several witnesses and leading experts, the nearly 200-page writ asks the Court to order a new trial for my husband, Damien Echols, or release him.

In short, DNA testing has been conducted on dozens of pieces of evidence. The DNA results show no link whatsoever to Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley or Jason Baldwin â€â€œ and all of the experts agree that, under the prosecution theory of how the crime was committed, their DNA would be present at the crime scene if they were guilty. Instead, the DNA results match Terry Hobbs, the step-father of one of the victims. Our new filing also includes strong evidence from Pam Hobbs (the ex-wife of Terry Hobbs and the mother of one of the victims) implicating her former husband in the murders.

The writ includes scientific analysis from some of the nation’s leading forensics experts, stating that wounds on the victims’ bodies were caused by animals at the crime scene â€â€œ not by knives used by the perpetrators, as the prosecution claimed. These wounds, and evidence about knives, were the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case.

Beyond writing to share this exciting news, I want to thank you for your support. Each person who spoke out about this case or donated money â€â€œ each person who refused to let the world forget about three men locked away forever, one on death row, for a crime they so clearly did not commit â€â€œ made this week’s filing possible. Without you, we could not have made it this far, and we cannot thank you enough.

I am not an expert on science or the law. But I know that the writ that we just filed in federal court completely undercuts every argument and piece of “evidenceâ€� that was used to convict Damien, Jessie and Jason. Our lawyers and other legal experts say that any one piece of evidence in our filing, by itself, would be enough to overturn these convictions â€â€œ and that, combined, all of the evidence makes it clear that this was a grave injustice that the federal court must step in and correct.

That won’t happen easily.

In the weeks ahead, the court will review the writ we just filed, and the Arkansas Attorney General will file a response. We will then reply to that filing, and the court will rule. We hope and believe that the court will rule to overturn these convictions, but we still have a lot of work to do to get there. I am also writing to ask for your help â€â€œ which we need now more than ever.

You and I know that Damien, Jessie and Jason would not have been convicted if they weren’t teenagers without more than a few dollars to their name, who were perceived to be “different� than other kids. They did not have the resources to fight a zealous prosecution in a poisonous atmosphere, and so they were convicted. The state still has millions of dollars at its disposal to defend these convictions. Despite all of the evidence we have uncovered and filed in court this week, the state is going to fight us in federal court. No matter what, they will have more money than we do. But with your help, we can follow up on this unprecedented court filing and secure justice.

We only have a few weeks to gear up for the next phase. Our experts, investigators and attorneys need to refute everything the state will throw at us, and we need to keep the court focused on the scientific truth in this case.

Please make checks payable to:
Damien Echols Defense Fund
PO Box 1216
Little Rock, AR 72203

You can also donate online, through PayPal. It's easy, free and allows you to use your credit or debit card. We also suggest that International Supporters use this option. Please use LDavis11@hotmail.com as the recipient address and kindly include your name and address in the notes box. The button you can click to include your address does not always work.

I cannot overstate how important it is that you donate now. Damien, Jessie and Jason were convicted more than 12 years ago based on nothing but fear, hysteria and innuendo. We now have the evidence we need to overturn these convictions based on cold, hard science â€â€œ but we need your help today.

We are close to overturning these convictions â€â€œ if we have the money it will take over the next few months to pursue this appeal. Go here to read the writ we just filed in federal court, and you’ll see that we are at a critical juncture in this case, and that your help and support has gotten us here. Please help us, and please know that your support has already gotten us farther than many people thought possible.

Thanks very much,
Lorri Davis
and the Damien Echols Legal Team

I read your rave about "Teachers", and I might have to go back and give a 2nd look, but I remember actually seeing it in the theatre, expecting Fast Times, and being really dissapointed, especially because Macchio was supposed to be the "cool" kid.

But I'll try it again. I was always a big fan of Hirsch and Nolte.

Despite all of the evidence we have uncovered and filed in court this week...

This is all good news, but it's nowhere near over. If have no faith in the court system (especially after learning of this case) and think that so many people are still going to insist on their guilt just to save face.

its on hbo right now. just saved the plane. wow i really like it. kinda amazes me that i like it.

and is it me or were the credits too fast? i couldnt read a thing

the saving the airplane/shuttle sequence is the best part of the whole movie